


As yet to be determined

by Franniesgurrl



Series: Scientific Discoveries [3]
Category: Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Genre: Arguing, Definitely no bondage. Yet., Ephraim might be a stalker but probably not, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Mad Spy Skills, Misunderstandings, Porn with Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-10 21:51:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7862482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Franniesgurrl/pseuds/Franniesgurrl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Francine is trying to figure out exactly what just happened so she goes to Beaman's apartment to see if he can explain it. He can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tired of Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> So the preset tags are telling me I've been mispelling Beaman's name so I've corrected for this one but haven't had a chance to fix the others yet. I'll try and remember to get to that.

Francine glanced across the table where Ephraim was staring at the ceiling, looking suitably bored by the staff meeting. They had never really discussed how they’d behave at the office, but had simply settled back into the regular routine of studiously ignoring each other and only being seen together when they were actively working on something. Billy was still trying to figure out how two people who seemed to be just short of openly antagonistic had managed to wrap up the first few cases he’d given them in record time.

“It’s perfectly simple,” said Francine when Billy had asked. “Unlike some partnerships in this place, Beaman and I share nothing except the mutual knowledge that I don’t like him and won’t put up with his schoolboy crap, which means we can concentrate on our job. Plus, he’s smart enough to know I’m in charge so he does what he’s told and he doesn’t distract me with inane chatter.”

“If you say so,” said Billy. “As long as you’re not actively fighting in the bullpen, I’m willing to go by your success rate. Try not to let me down on either of those counts, Desmond.”

“Have I ever, Billy?”

Outside of work, well, that was a whole other story, but no one knew that. Not one person in the staff meeting would have guessed that she and Ephraim were spending their nights on their own mission to discover every erogenous point on the other’s body. Her mind drifted to the night after their day at the hotel when she’d shown up at his apartment unannounced, curious to see if whatever it was that they seemed to be sharing was really just some kind of Stockholm syndrome from being trapped in that hotel room together for 24 hours.

She’d been standing outside the door, still trying to decide whether or not to even knock when he’d opened the door and frozen in place – she was obviously the last person he’d expected to find there. And then he’d grinned that slow grin no one else knew, the grin that made her insides warm and he stepped aside silently to let her step inside. She sidled past him and paused to let her gaze sweep the room. She turned to find Ephraim surveying her in much the same way and realised he was wearing a jacket and had his keys in his hand.

“Going somewhere?”

“I was just headed over to my girlfriend’s place actually.”

She could feel the expression freeze on her face in the same way her heart had just stopped. “You’ve got a girlfriend?” she asked icily.

“Well that’s what I was going to go find out.” He swung the door shut and walked toward her, still with that smile on his face. “But since she just showed up, I guess I don’t need to.”

“Oh.” She could feel her heart start beating again as she released the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding.

“Oh” He slid his arms around her and looked down, suddenly uncertain. “Or do I? You aren’t here with a restraining order or something, are you?”

For the briefest moment she was tempted to keep her agent face on but as quickly as the thought came to her, it went straight back out. “No, no restraining order. Yet.” She lifted her arms to wrap around his neck, encouraging him to bend down and kiss her.

When they eventually broke apart, they were both smiling.

“I know we’ve gone at this backward but aren’t I just about due to take you out for dinner or to a movie or something?”

“Or we could order in and make our own movie.” Her eyes sparkled up at him like sapphires.

“Don’t want to be seen in public with me?” He’d been teasing but he regretted it the second the hurt look flashed across her face. “Desmond, I'm kidding!”

She stared into his chest, then looked back up at him, twisting his shirt in her hands. “I’m not good at this. I don’t have a good history with this.”

“Ah. I see. You’re one of those people who like to practice something in secret until they’re good at it so when it’s time for the big reveal, you can stun and amaze? I think most people would find the fact that you're even with me to be stunning and amazing.”

Her eyes narrowed and her grip on his shirt tightened. “I’m trying to be honest with you and you’re razzing me?”

The slow grin was back. “You need to be razzed, love. You take yourself too seriously sometimes. So I’ll say this only once more: you and your secrets are safe with me. Now I am going to go order Chinese food – you like that snow pea thing right? – and then we can discuss some of that practicing.”

She nodded agreeably and he disappeared into the kitchen; within a second or two, she could hear him on the phone, ordering dinner. She edged her way across the room, examining the photos on the wall – mostly what appeared to be a large family – and a few knicknacks – nothing as eccentric as Lee’s collection from world travels but definitely personal – and paused to check over her shoulder that he was still in the kitchen before ducking her head through the bedroom door. The room was too dim for her to see anything at first with the curtains drawn to shut out the glaring evening sun so she stepped in and let her eyes adjust.

Field experience meant that it was only a matter of seconds before she had done a thorough visual sweep of the room: standard male bedroom, king size bed, of course because he’s tall but it’s actually made. Clothes half in, half out of hamper – but points for owning an actual hamper and not just piling them in the corner.  Bare minimum of art on the wall, but it’s not posters and it’s not Escher which she half expected. In fact – she looked closer – yes, that print of the Turkish house interior was one she had seen at an art gallery in Alexandria and thought about getting herself. Bathroom off the bedroom – tidy. Closet door ajar – tempting but not enough time to check. Bedside table – lamp, clock, frame. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she moved across the room to pick up the frame, not sure what to expect, but still surprised. Not that it was a photo of her, but surprised that it was a snapshot taken of the two of them at one of the Christmas parties – Ephraim backed up against a desk looking confused while she is obviously telling him off again for one of his drunken moves.

 _Not drunken move_ she thought. _He’s never been drunk at one of those parties._

She started to laugh, realising for the first time just how effectively he’d been teasing her for the last four years – never really bothering her, barely speaking to her, pretending, in fact to be afraid of her -- but always taking advantage of that damn party to let her know he liked her.

“Don’t bother to keep snooping. I took down the creepy stalker shrine last night.” Ephraim was leaning on the bedroom door, grinning at her.

“I wasn’t… ok yes I was. So you took down the shrine and this is the picture you keep?” She waved the frame at him, trying but failing to keep a straight face.

He wandered over to take it from her hands, still grinning and looked down at it. “Someone left it on my desk over the holidays a couple of years ago. They probably thought it would bug me but really it just makes me laugh every time I look at it. You’re trying so hard to be angry but your eyes are crinkling in that way when you’re trying not to laugh.”

“My eyes are what?”

He put the picture down, took her by the shoulder and turned her so she was facing a nearby mirror, then pointed over her shoulder at the reflection. “Crinkling. Like that.”

She stared at him in the mirror, awestruck. “You’ve memorised my eye crinkles? You really are a creepy stalker guy, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but in the nicest possible way.” He put his arms around her and began to kiss her neck. “So tell me, Agent Desmond, were you really just snooping or was this an intricate ploy to lure me into the bedroom?”

“I need an intricate ploy for that? Since when?”

“Well, that Chinese food is going to arriving shortly and I wouldn’t want to start anything I couldn’t finish.” He watched in the mirror as her eyes closed in contentment and she leaned back against him.

“Most men would be halfway to third base by now.”

“Well, I’m not most men and I prefer playing cricket.”

“How un-American of you. So what’s the difference?”

“Well, there’s still a bat and balls.” He pulled her closer so she could feel the effect she was having on him, still watching her reflection as she breathed out a laugh. His lips caressed her ear as he went on. “But there’s also a crease.” He let his hand slide over her skirt to rest near the top of her thigh, smiling when she quivered as he cupped her through her clothes. “And the matches take days to play.”

“Days?”

“Days.”

“We have at least two days before we’re expected back at work.”

“Exactly. So we should pace ourselves.” He turned her to face him, cupping her ass in one hand to pull her closer as he ran his other hand into her hair until it was resting on the back of her scalp. Her eyes were open now, looking up at him steadily. He had to smile; this was Francine Desmond – of course there would be none of that shyness or uncertainty of other women early in a relationship – she knew what she wanted and she simply took it.

 _God, I love this woman._  He knew better than to say it out loud however and simply lowered his head to kiss her.

 _I could love this man_. There was safety here, she knew it. She could let herself fall and he would catch her. She just needed to trust herself first. She moved her hands from where they’d been resting on his chest and ran them around his ribs to his back to pull him in.

“How long have we got until the food gets here?” she asked, smiling against his lips.

“Just about long enough for some practice.”

“Good.” She started to pull his shirt from his waistband, then began to undo the buttons.

“Really Desmond?” he complained. “I was picturing maybe just a makeout session to warm up?”

“You need to warm up? How disappointing. You’ll never make a decent agent that way.” She had finished unbuttoning his shirt and had paused long enough to caress his chest as she looked at him challengingly.

“You think not? What makes a good agent?’ He tried to sound genuinely interested as if he hadn’t noticed that she was already working on undoing his belt. He moved closer to her, which forced her to step back slightly.

“Field experience. Speed. Instincts.” She listed each item decisively, punctuating each one with undoing the belt, the button and the fly of his jeans, sliding her hand into his y-fronts and grasping him firmly as she added, “The element of surprise.”

He closed his eyes to give into the sensation for a second, then tilted his head as if considering what she’d said. “So you’re saying I need more field experience?” He moved again, again just enough to make her step back to avoid overbalancing as she leaned back to look up at him.

“I am.”

“You don’t think my instincts are good already? I knew I wanted you the moment I met you.” She was so intent on teasing and stroking him that she still hadn’t clued in that he was moving her at a glacial pace across the room simply by shifting his body position.

“I think your instincts are excellent,” she agreed, leaning forward to nuzzle his chest.

Another step.

“So what was it I need to work on again?” Another step.

“Your speed and the element of surprise. Ooof!” she exclaimed as she suddenly found herself pinned against the wall.

“Surprise,” said Ephraim with a shit-eating grin as he bent to kiss her.

“You son of a bitch, how did you do that?” she was laughing now at how easily he’d out maneuvred her.

He continued to hold her against the wall with his hip as he easily pulled her sweater over her head – she was putting up no resistance – with her bra joining it on the floor almost instantly.

“Now what was the other thing?” He slid his hands under her skirt as he nipped at her breasts, enjoying the whimpers he was evoking. With a yank, he ripped through the wispy lace of her panties and tossed them aside. “Oh yeah, speed.” He lifted her suddenly, bringing her face to face with him, braced against the wall. “Let’s see how you’d rate me on speed.”

“I liked those panties,” she pouted.

“I’ll buy you new ones,” he growled against her neck. Without giving her time to answer, he slid himself into her warmth forcefully, unable to hide his satisfaction at how wet and ready she was for him. Her eyes widened briefly at the unexpectedness of his entrance before she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him in closer.

“Where has this Beaman been hiding?” she asked even as she shifted her hips to take him in more deeply, her internal muscles clamping around him in a heated caress.

“Not hiding, just waiting,” he replied as he began to thrust into her. “Done waiting,” he grunted as he sheathed himself in her again and again. She braced her back against the wall more firmly and grasped his shoulders to steady herself so that she could match his rhythm. She let her head tilt back and closed her eyes, giving into the building sensations. Ephraim shifted his hands to cup her ass more tightly and as the tips of his fingers slipped between her ass cheeks, they brushed against the puckered flesh hidden there. To his delight, she gave a guttural moan of pleasure at the pressure and her eyes flew open to meet his. He could see the slight panic in her eyes as if she’d inadvertently revealed something she hadn’t meant to.

“Oh hello,’ he teased, purposely brushing against it again as he pushed into her. “I think we have a winner.”

She was too far gone to fight back against even that gentle razz. “Ephraim, just… don’t stop… keep… oh God, yes, there.” She was arched off the wall now, only her shoulders still in contact with it for support as she bucked furiously against him. He matched her thrust for thrust, letting the fingertips of one hand slide back and forth along the taut skin between her anus and her pussy, as she moaned with overwhelming pleasure at the sensation. It only took half a dozen long strokes after that to send her spiralling, shrieking her release, her warm tunnel clamping like a velvet glove around him to bring him with her, filling her with warm jets of seed.

They stood gasping for breath, arms wrapped around each other, still connected flesh to flesh. After a minute, Ephraim eased himself out of her, but didn’t put her down – carrying her instead to the bathroom and setting her down on the counter. She watched silently as he ran warm water, and wet a wash cloth before carefully cleaning their combined fluids from her thighs, then from himself. It struck her that it was so nurturing compared to the almost frantic attack of a few minutes earlier – how could she ever understand him? He rearranged his clothes and did back up the jeans he’d never had time to take off, then placing a hand on the counter on either side of her, he leaned in to gently kiss her, not on the lips, but more contentedly just to the side of them.

“So, care to rate me on speed now?” he laughed softly against her cheek.

“You are such a bastard,” she smiled as she lifted her arms to link her hands behind his head. “And so impatient.”

“Like I said, I’m done waiting. I was Mr. Nice Guy for too long already.”

“Well you’ve been very nice to me the last few days,” she murmured appreciatively, leaning forward to kiss him.

He lifted one hand to run it under the skirt that was still bunched around her waist and gently rubbed the top of the crease at the top of her ass. “And aren’t you just full of surprises?” he grinned as she shuddered at even that light touch. “So that’s a thing?”

She blushed and stared at his chest, the confused embarrassment on her face making her look vulnerable. “Yeah.”

“Good to know.” She thought he’d razz her more but he simply shifted his hand to lift her off the counter and set her back on her feet. “I get the feeling we’ll be coming back to that over the next few days.” He helped her smooth her skirt back into place then turned and reached behind him to pull one of his t-shirts off a nearby hook and slid it over her head.

“Maybe next time,” She couldn’t resist saying it and was rewarded with that slow smile.

“Oh I don’t think that’s a maybe, Desmond,” he drawled, the tone in his voice sending shocks of arousal right through her body. The doorbell rang – the food had arrived. “Saved by the bell,” he teased, taking her by the hand and leading her back to the living room.


	2. Precipitate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have to be careful about mixing volatile ingredients.

Her attention snapped back to the meeting just in time to hear Billy starting to wrap up.

“So that’s another week in the books,” said Billy from the front of the meeting room. “You did some outstanding work this month, people. If Smith hadn’t sent us on that wild goose chase at the Watergate last week, I’d have been able to give us a 100% gold star rating.”

Lee looked up from where he’d been doodling notes on the week’s debrief. “What wild goose chase was that?”

Francine stared studiously at her own note pad, praying she wasn’t giving anything away in her expression.

“Oh that’s right, you were off last week,” said Billy. “Doctor Smith sent us off to monitor a room at the Watergate last Monday night because he had “solid gold” information the Russians had a meeting with a double agent there.” Billy’s voice was dripping with irony as he made air quotes on the “solid gold” comment.

“And there was nothing there?” asked Lee in a curious voice.

“Well no one had shown by midnight, so I told the team to pack it in and go home. Why so interested, Scarecrow? Your grapevine telling you anything?”

“Oh, not really interested, Billy. I just feel like it’s odd Smith is so interested. He’s usually pretty hands off on this stuff unless he has a personal interest.”

Francine took a chance and glanced up just in time to catch Lee and Amanda look at each other across the table before quickly looking back down at her notes.

“Well, like I said, there was nothing to report. So that was the best part of my week – getting to tell him that he was completely wrong.” Billy’s deep chuckle resounded around the room.

“I bet,” said Lee, exchanging another look with Amanda.

After that, the meeting couldn’t end fast enough for Francine. She bolted from the room and headed straight to her desk, trying to look busy as the other agents left the room more slowly and wandered away to their own desks. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched Lee and Amanda leave last of all, talking in whispers until they got to the hallway where they split off in opposite directions. Francine heaved a sigh of relief that Billy hadn’t said anything else about the Watergate operation. Maybe they figured they’d gotten away with it.

She didn’t see either of them for a long time after that, which wasn’t odd considering they spent most of the day in their own office or out on cases. Getting up to wander to the coffee station, she smiled to herself at the mental image of why she had so often found the door locked these days. Like she’d told Ephraim, she’d known for months that they were screwing around but she’d never heard Lee Stetson tell someone he loved them in the throes of passion the way he had with Amanda. Or at least he never had with her, she thought, but then again, their relationship had never been anything but sex, no strings attached. When she’d gone on that six month job to work with MI5, they’d parted with no regrets and when she’d come back to DC after a very pleasant few months fucking around with James Bond wannabes, they had just settled into friendship with an occasional booty call if they were both in the mood, which had happened less and less the more time he spent with Amanda.

_I wonder how long it took him to convince her to sleep with him_ , she thought. _It must have been quite a challenge for him to seduce such an uptight woman, so different from his usual eat-em-and-leave-em bimbos_. It had been obvious the housewife had had a crush on him from the start but even so, she hadn’t seemed like the type to fall into bed easily for Scarecrow’s charms.

_Then again_. Like a movie playing in her head, she could suddenly see Amanda braced against that headboard at the Watergate, screaming through her orgasm. Lee had not only lured her into his bed apparently, he’d found a wildcat when she got there.

As night follows day, that image was followed by one of herself flattened up against a bank of surveillance equipment screaming just as loud as Ephraim ate her out a few minutes later. Even a week later she was still shaking her head over that one. In the course of a few minutes they had gone from angrily taunting each other to having violent sex and in less than 12 hours that had evolved into… She paused mid-pour to think about that. _Whatever this is_ , she finished the thought as her concentration drifted again.

* * *

 

_“Trust me?”_

It seemed like an odd question given that she was currently splayed out on a bed, completely naked, gasping for breath and he was nuzzling her inner thigh and she said as much.

Ephraim chuckled as he slid up her body and began to lick and nip at her oversensitive nipples. “I want to try something but you need to trust me.”

She arched up toward his mouth, barely able to concentrate on what he was saying because of the way he was setting her on fire. “Of course I trust you,” she murmured, eyes closed. “You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“No, I suppose not.”

They’d only been home a short time – home to her apartment this time, after an evening spent at a club in Fairfax where Francine had been playing out what Lee still jokingly referred to as her Happy Hooker routine, not that she’d often had to follow through on it in all these years. She had to admit there was a definite uncomfortable edge to performing it that night, knowing that her partner was watching the whole thing from his perch on the bar, as she expertly flirted and teased and occasionally fondled their target. She had had to restrain herself from looking over at him, but a few times she had chanced a glimpse of him in the mirrors scattered on the walls. He’d been his usual invisible self – no one on the bar would remember he’d been there if they’d been asked about it later – but even in those brief glances she had seen the set of his shoulders, the too-blank face, the grip on his glass that told her how much he was hating every moment of it.

She’d found herself dialing it back, pleased to find that she was still able to get the information they were after with the bare minimum of flirting. She knew she wasn’t getting any younger – not that she was old, although fuck, somedays those rookie agents made her feel that way – but the target had obviously appreciated her… assets. The problem was that she was finding it a lot less fun than she used to – she used to enjoy the attention and toying with men, occasionally taking some of them to bed just to scratch that itch – on-the-job benefits as it were – but today it didn’t feel right, it wasn’t fun – it was… uncomfortable. She had a flashback to the year before when Lee had been backpedalling in Billy’s office, trying to get out of that peacock dance with that young Russian girl and realised he’d been in that same position, involved with a partner who had to observe the whole thing. She’d thought at the time that Lee and his libido had probably followed through with Sonia despite Amanda’s protests that he hadn’t, but now stuck in the same position, she knew he hadn’t – now she understood why Amanda had been so certain when she’d said he’d promised. She peeked up at the mirror, and met Ephraim’s eyes, catching the look of relief when she’d nodded toward the exit – he hadn’t been as sure and she’d made him no promises.

_Would I promise him that? Would I put his feelings ahead of a mission requirement?_ She honestly didn’t know – she had never had to take anyone’s opinion into consideration before. But then she watched as Ephraim stood up and paid his bar tab and the girl behind the bar had smiled at him and touched his arm when she handed him his change – and even though the girl probably did that to all the men to get a good tip, the lightening hot stab of jealous rage had taken her by surprise. She made her excuses and slipped out of the club, walking around the dark side of the building and slipping into the front seat of the car he’d already pulled up, waiting for her.

“You’re good?”

“Yeah, just take me home.”

There was a stilted silence for the first few minutes as she rested her head on the back of the seat and ordered her thoughts, and then she began to brief him on everything she’d learned. He kept his responses terse, asking a few questions but not a lot else until they pulled up in front of her apartment. She was surprised – for some vague reason when she’d said ‘take me home’ she’d thought he’d take her to his place, not that that made any sense.

“Coming in?” she asked as he pulled up but didn’t shut off the engine.

“Am I?” he asked. She must have looked confused because he went on right away. “I mean, I don’t know what you prefer after an evening like this. I mean, do you go home and hit the hay or do you need to decompress and watch late night t.v.?”

“I usually do my check-in, then shower off all the stink of cigarette smoke and fingerprints and then I write up my notes. But usually I’ve either driven myself home or Fred or someone has dropped me off – someone coming in with me has never been a question before.”

He turned to look at her, eyebrow raised and she added “Well not since – not in a long time.” She knew she didn’t need to say Lee’s name – he knew their history – but she also found she didn’t want to say his name either. “So, in or out?”

He didn’t answer, he simply turned off the ignition and got out of the car, walking around to help her out before following her upstairs. She’d half expected him to hold her hand or something as they walked but it seemed like she had some kind of bubble around her that kept him from wanting to touch her at all.

The odd silence from the car followed them like a cloud. She couldn’t read him at all and wondered if knowing theoretically what she did in field work and then actually seeing it had changed how he thought of her.

She walked in to the apartment, kicked off her heels and then walked directly to the phone to make her check-in call. She spoke briefly, then turned to Ephraim and said, “Give it ten minutes as if you drove home and then make your call or they’ll send someone looking for you.” She turned and pulled a notepad off the kitchen counter and began to scribble down everything they’d discussed in the car.

“I thought you said shower, then notes?” She looked up and realised he was still standing in the middle of the room, watching her.

“I also said usually, but since you’re here, I assumed we’d do the notes while we wait to do your check in and then we’d shower.”

“Ok.” He didn’t react the way she’d thought – that he’d perk up at the idea of sharing a shower with her. She turned back to the notepad with a scowl, and began writing again, asking him the occasional question to confirm what she’d told  him in the car, all of which he answered monosyllabically. It didn’t take long and when she looked up, he still hadn’t moved. She realised suddenly he hadn’t really been near her since they got out of the car.

“Are you alright?” she asked and watched him go still. Suddenly she was awash with annoyance. “Oh for Christ’s sake, Beaman! You’re acting like you used to do. I’m sorry if it freaks you out to watch me work but it’s just part of the job and I really don’t need you making me feel like a leper because of it!”

He made a move toward her and then stopped again. “I don’t! I mean, you’re not  - it’s just…”

“What?!” she snapped. “It’s just what?!”

He tilted his head and paused before answering. “It’s just that I can’t read you and I can’t tell if you really want me here or not.”

“What are you talking about – you can’t read me? And why wouldn’t I want you here?”

“You haven’t taken off the job yet.”

“I haven’t what?”

“I watched you earlier putting it on – it’s kind of like armor but you still have it on, but now it’s less like armor and more like crystal.” He moved forward but still not quite close enough. “And if I touch you, you’ll shatter.”

“Beaman! I’m not some breakable toy!”

“No,” he agreed. “But you were practically vibrating with tension in the car and when you said you wanted to wash off the fingerprints… You just seem like you’re on your last nerve. You’re giving off sparks – am I making any sense?”

She stared at him for a long moment, turning over his words in her head before finally saying in a curt voice, hands clenched into fists and a stormy expression on her face. “You’re right,” she said to his surprise. “When I get home from an evening like this, I’m always wired up. I always thought it was because of the drinks or the adrenaline or the stink of the bar but tonight…”

He waited for her to finish but she seemed to have become tongue-tied.

“Tonight?” he prompted finally. “What happened tonight?” he began to panic slightly when she didn’t answer. “Did someone do something? Did I miss something? You should have had someone better at this with you!” He moved across the room as he spoke until he was no more than an arm’s length away.

“Beaman, stop! Just stop!” She seemed to have become even more tense, which he hadn’t thought possible. “It wasn't anything anyone else did. It’s me and tonight it’s me because you were there.” She began gulping in air. “I always told myself I come home and shower after because I can’t go to sleep with the cigarette smell in my hair and then tonight I heard myself saying it was to wash off the fingerprints and you were there and I hated that. Not that you were there but that it was you and that I had to be like that with you watching and no, I don’t want you near me until I shower because my entire skin is crawling and I-” She stopped abruptly as he grabbed her hand and began to drag her towards the bedroom. “Ephraim! I said-”.

They reached the centre of her room and he dropped her hand, and walked away, back into the living room. She stood alone in the dark room for a beat, until she heard him pick up the phone in the other room. She didn’t know what she had expected from him but it hadn’t been that he’d simply walk away. She finally walked into the bathroom, blinking as the bright light of the bathroom flickered on and reaching for a washcloth, began to remove her makeup, furiously telling herself silently that she was not going to cry.

He reappeared, and moved behind her to turn on the shower, before turning to meet her eyes in the mirror.

“Check in” he explained simply and stepped closer to unzip the barely-there dress she had on, then helped her step out of it. As she finished wiping the last of the mascara off, he began to pull the pins out of her hair, letting it fall around her shoulder. His silence was just beginning to unnerve her, when he took her in his arms, and stood there just holding her for a long moment.

“Come on,” he said finally. “Water will be warm by now.” She felt the absence of his arms the moment he let go, but then he turned her and gave her a slight push towards the steamy stall. She began to peel off her underclothes, only then noticing he was stripping as well.

“Ephraim, I said I don’t-.”

“Desmond, just shut up.”

He picked her up and deposited her in the tub, climbing in after her, standing just outside of the spray so that the full force of the water was on her shoulders. He gave her another slight push so that the water was streaming down the back of her scalp then took her head between his hands and began to massage it until her hair was soaked. He reached past her for the shampoo and after pouring some into his palm, began to carefully wash her hair. She tilted forward until her forehead and her hands were resting on his chest, feeling the dark hair tickling her nose and letting herself relax against him as his fingers worked some kind of magic on her nerve endings as they carefully combed through her blond tresses. He didn’t move her as he grabbed the soap and a cloth and began to rhythmically run it across her body, wiping away the grime of the day as she stood under the water, still unresisting. Finally he wrapped his arms around her and she could hear his heart beating steadily under her cheek.

“You are not your job, you know,” he finally said. She stiffened and his arms tightened; his voice turned fierce. “You are one of the very best I know at the job but you are not your job. Whatever you need to do to do it, you do it and I will back you up all the way, but never think for one second that any of that affects any of this.”

She tilted her head back and studied him. He had taken off his glasses when he’d stripped so he looked more vulnerable than usual and she knew he couldn’t see her very well. “It doesn’t?” It was clear she didn't believe him.

“No, love, it doesn’t.” He pulled her back to him and began kissing her lightly along her forehead and down her cheekbones, as she marveled silently at how easily the endearment came from him. “I want to be here because of you, not because of what you do for a living, not because you’re the best at it, not because I am totally getting more street cred at work from hanging out with you, not because you’re amazing in bed…” As the list went on, she finally began to laugh. “I am here for this.”

“Whatever this is?”

“Whatever this is,” he agreed. “So if your armor is washed off now, how about we get out of this shower before the water gets cold?”

“Afraid of a little cold water?” She slipped her arms around him now and trailed her fingers down his spine, before leaning in to nip gently at one of his nipples. She smiled against his chest as his breath hissed and his cock twitched against her. “Doesn’t seem like it from where I’m standing.”

“That’s because the water isn’t that cold yet.” He turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her before helping her step out. “Although if there was ever anyone who could affect me even if I was in the Arctic Ocean…” He began rubbing her dry with a smile. “You’re breathtaking, you know that?”

“I’m standing here with soaking wet hair and no makeup and you think I’m breathtaking? I should make you take off your glasses more often.”

His hands dropped the towel as he pulled her toward him in a firm kiss. “Do you still honestly think that I feel this way because of how you look? You take my breath away for so much more than that – but you are always going to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen – even if I had 20-20 vision and you have wet hair and no makeup.”

The funny thing was, she believed him. When he had first started trailing her around the Christmas parties, she had put it down to a simple crush, but he’d seen her at her worst, he’d even been at the receiving end of some of some of her worst – and somehow after all this time, he still seemed perfectly happy just to spend time with her – and not tell anyone at the office. She’d been braced for something to slip out, for someone to start making jokes that would tell her they knew, but there’d been nothing. He’d said her secrets were safe and it seemed like he’d been telling the truth. She wondered if secretly he believed she was ashamed of being with him, even after she’d explained why they had to stay hidden.

“We’d be warmer in the bed,” she said finally.

“We would,” he agreed, swinging her up into his arms and carrying her there. He laid her down and lay beside her, up on one elbow. “Breathtaking,” he repeated and began to trace her skin with his fingertips. She could feel the heat curling inside her, every nerve ending electrified by the steady stroke of his fingers and all of them sending shocks to her pussy like lightening bolts. When he tugged at one nipple gently with his teeth while rolling the other between his fingers, she couldn’t contain her whimpers of arousal. She ran her fingers along his arms and shoulders, caressing his back with one hand while the other began to comb through his hair, nails scratching against his scalp. He released her breast from his mouth, replacing it with his hand as he began to move down her body, kissing and licking her fiery skin as she writhed against him. She began to pant as he reached her navel then tongued his way around the thick thatch of silken floss before lowering his hands to caress her thighs. When his fingers began to caress the sensitive folds, spreading them apart for his tongue and lips to begin to pleasure her, the whimpers turns to full-on moans of appreciation. She twisted one hand into his hair and the other in the bedcovers as he brought her closer to her peak.

“Trust me?”

She barely took in that he’d asked her something through the blood pounding in her ears. “What?” She shook her head trying to clear the confusion.

“I want to try something but you need to trust me.”

She arched up toward his mouth, still barely able to concentrate on what he was saying because of the way he was setting her on fire. “Of course I trust you,” she murmured, eyes closed. “You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“No, I suppose not.”

He had just lowered his head again when he felt more than heard the huffy sigh she gave off then, before she went on in a slightly grumbling tone, “Bedside drawer.”

Now it was his turn to be confused. “Bedside drawer?”

She sighed again, but he still couldn’t figure out why. “There are handcuffs in the bedside drawer. But just so you know, they’re not Agency issue – they have a safety catch so I don’t get stuck in them.”

“Desmond, what the hell are you talking about?”

She lifted her head off the pillow then, surprise all over her face. “Hand. Cuffs.” She enunciated the two syllables clearly, then stared as he stared back with an expression of disbelief.

"Okay, hand cuffs. And why are you telling me that?”

Her brows snapped together the way they always did when she thought he’d said something particularly dense. “Gimme a break! No man has ever said the sentence ‘I want to try something’ and didn’t immediately follow it up with ‘I’d like to tie you up’! So I got handcuffs with a built-in quick release because I sure as hell don’t trust other people to tie knots properly!”

“Ah.” He lowered his head again and it took her a few seconds to realise he wasn’t going to continue his previous activities – he was just lying there. And was he shaking?

The hand that was still in his hair tightened and she pulled slightly to get him to raise his head, which is when she realised he was laughing – that kind of ‘laughing so hard, you don’t make a sound’ laughing.

“Laughing at me is not a good way to get what you want, Beaman!”

He grabbed her free hand and squeezed it. “I’m not laughing at you! I mean I am, but not for the reason you think!” There must have been something in her furious expression because he immediately collapsed laughing again, warm breath heaving out across her belly.

“Beaman!”

He shifted himself up the bed until he was lying beside her and wrapped an arm around her now unyielding body. “It’s just…” He paused and grinned at her fierce expression. “All I was going to do was rim you with my tongue and maybe finger your ass a bit since it seemed the other day it might be something you liked and I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t kick me in the head if I took you by surprise.” He started to laugh again as her eyes widened. “And the next thing I know, I’m being given an Agency briefing on handcuffs and safety knots. I'm sorry, but it just struck me as funny.”

Francine knew she was blushing and glared at him but that only made him laugh harder as he gathered her in his arms. He rocked back and forth, chuckling against her hair until she finally began to relax as she started to see the funny side of it too.

He pounced as soon as he felt her start to smile. “Soooo, handcuffs with a safety release? Please tell me there’s a story behind that.”

“Beaman!” She didn’t look up, she just growled against his chest but he could see enough of her cheek to know she was still smiling.

“Come on, seriously, it was worth investing in those?” His fingers were trailing along her back gently and the mood had shifted from sexy to cuddly- and oddly, she didn’t mind.

“It only takes once to make it worth it,” she mock grumbled, which set him off shaking again.

“So has it really come up that often?” he asked, eyes wide.

“I’ve been asked more than once, let’s leave it at that.” She felt him chuckle and went on, “And no, I didn’t always say yes. And no, I’m not always the one who got cuffed.”

“But you said yes to me?” He sounded pleased.

“No, because you didn’t really ask.”

“No, I just didn’t know that’s what I’d asked,” he corrected. “You volunteered it. That’s still a yes.”

“Fine, it was a yes,” she grumbled. There was a long silence and she finally asked, “And are you going to do something with that yes?”

He could hear the prickly tone of embarrassment in her voice so he just chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll just leave that as a mutual yes for now and let you decide.”

It was the right answer because he felt her relax against him. They were still lying there quietly, Francine idly drawing circles in his chest hair when she felt him begin to shake again.

“What?” she asked suspiciously.

“I gotta know – are they fuzzy?” Ephraim’s question was followed by a yelp of pain as she expertly twisted one of his nipples between her fingers before rolling over and curling into a ball with her back to him.

“Well, you’re never going to find out now,” she answered in a mock huffy tone.

Ephraim was still laughing as he rolled onto his side and curled his body around hers. “Never?” he teased. “Not even next time?”

It was no good, he was making her laugh too hard to even pretend to be mad at him. “Maybe next time,” she allowed. Her tone was stern but the way she shifted backwards into his body told the truth. He chuckled, then began a careful assault of light kisses along the top of her ear and down her neck as his hand moved up and down her thigh, rhythmically. She tried to pretend to ignore him but it was no good – with just a few minutes, his hand had slipped between her legs and she was grinding back against his cock, moaning with appreciation at the way his fingers were stroking her clit. She shifted to let his hot length slip between her legs, gasping as his cock head nudged its way along her swollen pussy. Unable to wait any longer, she lowered her hand and guided him into her slick channel, rocking back with a sigh of satisfaction as he filled her. He shifted slightly to bend her forward, slipping a hand between their bodies as he continued to embed himself in her welcoming flesh. When he began to run his thumb along the silky skin behind her pussy in the same rhythm his other fingers were strumming her clit, she lost all ability to think coherently.

“Ephraim” She sighed out his name as she began to spasm around him.

If his heart stopped beating at hearing his name from her in exactly that way, it was only briefly and then he was coming too with a hoarse cry against her back.

“Breathtaking,” he murmured into her ear when their hearts are both begun to slow down and their gasping breaths had become calmer and quieter.

“Thank you,” she whispered, turning in his arms and kissing him gently.

“What for?” he asked, smiling. “The compliment or…?”

Francine snuggled in closer to his chest yawning. “For being here, for being… I don’t know… safe.”

Ephraim lifted his head to look at her, uncertainly. “Safe? That sounds kinda dull, even for me,” he muttered but it was too late – she was already asleep in his arms, even breaths puffing out against his skin. He lifted a hand to brush a strand of hair off her cheek, marveling anew at how stunningly beautiful she was with those long lashes resting on her porcelain cheek.

“I love you, Francine,” he whispered, fairly certain she was too asleep to hear him.

She stirred but didn’t really wake, just snuggled in closer as he pulled the covers up over them and wrapped his arms around her. “G’night love” she slurred out sleepily before drifting off again.

“G’night, love,” he repeated back to her in wonder. He didn’t know if she’d remember saying that but he knew he’d never forget hearing it.

He lay there for a little while longer, fighting off the after-cum sleepiness and rolling that conversation over and over in his head.

_Safe? What the hell did she mean by safe?_

* * *

 

Francine finished stirring her coffee and turned to look around the bullpen. She caught sight of Ephraim’s head, bent studiously over a file across the room and a flush of sexual arousal went over her like a wave and she sighed happily at the thought that she’d be seeing him again tonight. She had just straightened up to walk back to her own desk when an angry voice sounded in her ear.

“So did you enjoy the show?”

 


	3. Compound Fractures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Francine is feeling like she's stuck in the middle of a hurricane. Hint: it's not that calm bit in the eye of the storm.

“So did you enjoy the show?”

She looked up to find Lee looming over her, looking absolutely furious. It was so startling to see that rage directed at her that she felt the blood drain from her face.

“That’s what I thought,” he snarled. “We need to talk. Now.” He reached and grabbed her wrist in an iron grip as if he was about to drag her somewhere. She dug her heels in and resisted the pull.

“No, we do not need to talk!” she hissed at him “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Don’t pull that crap with me! It’s written all over your face! Fielder told me you were there. Now come on!” He missed seeing the look of relief on her face as someone walked up beside them, mostly because it was overtaken rapidly by another look of panic as she took in who it was.

“Is Stetson bothering you, Ms. Desmond?” said an overly calm voice.

Lee glanced up at Beaman with his usual dismissive look, then back at Francine. “Get out of here Beaman. This is nothing to do with you.”

“I think it is, since it looks like my partner isn’t very happy about it.”

“Partner?” Lee scoffed. “Billy letting you babysit her the other night does not make you partners, no matter how much you want it to be true!”

“Well, whatever we are or aren’t, I’m still not leaving.”

It took a moment but Lee finally became aware of a sense of danger as the hair on the back of his neck rose. He looked back at Beaman, surprised to see that the usual sleepy look had been replaced with something far more intense. He’d never thought of Beaman as anything but a geeky loser but just for a split second he found himself rethinking that, before Francine trying to pull away brought his attention back to her.

“Do what you want, but for the record, I am not bothering Francine! We’re just trying to have a conversation between friends.” Lee spat the last word at her.

“Well if it’s so friendly, then perhaps you’d like to take your hand off me,” said Francine between gritted teeth.

Lee reacted to the words like he’d been hit by ice water. He looked at Francine, seeing for the first time both the panic and the anger in her wide blue eyes, then down at where his hand was gripping her arm so hard his knuckles were white. He let go as if he’d been burned and stepped back. “Sorry,” he said in a ragged voice. “I’m sorry.”

It sounded like genuine remorse, but it was apparent he was still upset. Francine eyes were flicking back and forth between the two men, both of them on edge.

“I need to talk to you.” Lee repeated.

 “Fine, we can talk.” Francine met Ephraim’s eyes, silently asking him to stay calm. “But not here.”

“Lee.” Amanda had arrived now and was tugging his arm. She looked at Francine, a flush rising in her face. “Lee, come on. It’s fine.”

He looked at her, disbelief written all over his face. “It’s fine?”

“Yes! There’s nothing there! Now come on!”

Lee looked back and forth between the two women, Amanda silently begging and Francine still a mix of fear and fury before his shoulder slumped. “Okay.”

Francine met Amanda’s eyes, seeing the mix of worry and embarrassment there. It was obvious they knew they’d been found out and were in survival mode. “I’ll be home tonight. Come over.”

* * *

 

“No, you do not need to be there! In fact, it would be worse if you were there!” Francine was hissing at Ephraim as he leaned over her desk.

“I know what I saw and I don’t trust Stetson!” he hissed back.

“Look, I know he was angry but he’d only just figured it out and he was lashing out. He’s my friend and it will be fine.”

“How can you be sure? You know what his temper’s like – we’ve all seen it.” He glanced down at her arm where the bruises were starting to show from where Lee had gripped her arm.

Francine pushed her sleeves down self-consciously to cover them. “One, because he’s my friend,” she repeated. “Two, because he knows I’ll fight back and three, because Amanda will be there.”

Ephraim’s scowl deepened and he leaned further forward to rest his palms on her desk, not caring one bit what anyone else thought, until he heard the voice at his elbow.

“Having a problem, you two?” asked Billy. They looked up to find him glaring at them, arms folded across his chest.

“No, no problem, Billy,” Francine was quickest off the mark to answer. “Just a disagreement about how to handle a difficult interview.” She glared at Ephraim daring him to contradict her. He pressed his lips together and said nothing but she could see his eyes flashing behind the glasses.

Billy looked back and forth between them consideringly. “Just do whatever she says, Beaman,” he finally ordered. “She’s the senior agent and she’s got more experience with interviews than you do.”

“Fine,” said Ephraim in a clipped voice, before he stalked away from the desk and out the bullpen doors.

Billy watched him go then turned back in time to catch Francine watching him leave as well. “I thought I told you no open warfare?”

“Oh come on, Billy!” she snapped. “Lee and Amanda have much worse fights all the time!”

“Fair enough,” he conceded. “But they’ve learned to mostly keep them contained to their own office. If you and Beaman are going to follow in their footsteps, can you at least try to find an empty meeting room to fight in? People are already telling me you and Lee were fighting earlier and Amanda had to pull you apart!”“

“We were not fighting!” she interrupted.

“That’s not what I’m hearing and to be honest, I don’t care if you were fighting or not – it’s bad for morale if people think our top people can’t get along!” He jabbed a finger at her. “So I want you to take the lead on rebuilding some of those bridges before I regret giving up my 2IC to more active field duty!”

“Why is this my problem?” she asked angrily. “I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“And yet you seem to be the common denominator, don’t you?” asked Billy rhetorically. “”So fix the mood in this bullpen or else!”

Francine watched him walk away from her desk before she could respond, just stopping herself from screaming in frustration. How had it come to this? She had three men in her life – only three – that she thought she could trust implicitly and right now all three of them were angry at her – and she hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve it.


	4. Just Add Alcohol and Stir It Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coverups and revelations - even a spy's domestic life is never dull.

They hadn’t knocked – they hadn’t needed to because she could hear them arguing quietly all the way down the hall to her condo. Not fighting, just arguing, Lee obviously still ready to believe the worst, Amanda trying to calm him. They’d stopped and continued the discussion outside of her door, only stopping when she’d swung open the door and stared at them for a long moment before turning and walking away toward her open kitchen.

“Drink?” she asked over her shoulder. She didn’t wait for an answer, simply pulling a bottle of white wine out of the fridge and a bottle of scotch from a cupboard and starting to pour. She pushed the glasses toward them across the counter, picked up her own then leaned back against the opposite counter, watching them silently.

They walked forward silently toward her, Amanda sliding onto one of the bar stools with an apologetic expression, Lee unsuccessfully hiding his tension.

Francine pushed the scotch closer to him. “Oh for Christ’s sake, Stetson. Just have a drink and relax.”

He glared at her for a second, then stepped forward to grab the glass and downed the shot.

She stayed leaning on the counter, apparently relaxed but actually aching with tension, and said nothing, just stared at the couple expressionlessly, waiting for them to take the lead.

“So, you know,” said Amanda finally.

She had half decided to deny everything but knew in that instant that she wouldn’t. “About you two? Well I’ve known that for months.”

Lee and Amanda exchanged a look. “Months?” asked Amanda.

“Of course. Since last summer at least.”

“You knew all that time?” Amanda looked confused. “Why did you keep trying to break us up?”

“I wasn’t trying to break you up. I was trying to make sure Lee wasn’t fucking it up.” She met Lee’s angry look with a shrug. “Oh gimme a break. Your track record was terrible. But if you screwed this up, it would have been both your careers too.”

“Oh come on,” Lee protested.

“It’s true and you know it. You’re fine on your own but you’re better with Amanda. Four years ago I would have laughed at that idea but now?” She shrugged again. “Now you’re a package deal, no question.”

“So who else knows?” asked Lee, obviously no longer able to contain himself.

“Well, we don’t exactly sit around the bullpen discussing it so I don’t know if anyone else knows. Billy might have guessed but he doesn’t discuss his pets.”

“There was nothing in the evidence bag,” Amanda appeared to be trying to remind him. “Just your notes.”

“That’s because there was no evidence,” snapped Francine. “If you read the notes, you’d know we’d clocked off by the time you got there.”

“We’d clocked off?” repeated Lee.

Francine mentally gave herself a kick in the shins and answered smoothly – she hoped. “Beaman had been there earlier, but like I said, we’d clocked off and he’d left by the time you got there. So the only recordings were of an empty room and so there’s no evidence. Look, you two are the closest thing I have to friends – I wasn’t about to let Smith get away with that crap.”

“But you didn’t leave, did you?” asked Amanda.

“No,” Francine tried to be nonchalant. “I was tired. I’d already asked Billy if I could stay to there to sleep and guard the equipment. I was just getting ready to shut it all down when you got there.”

“So you watched?” Lee was getting angry again.

“Oh yeah – I made popcorn and everything.” She made a noise fo frustration when she saw him clench his fists “Oh puh-lease! I have better things to do than watch you two going at it.” She didn’t want to do it, but she figured offense was the only thing that was going to end this stupid battle she was in. “I’ve been there, done you, got the t-shirt, thanks. I don’t need to get my fun watching you screwing other women.”

Amanda flinched slightly but pressed the point. “But the notes say Ephraim came back the next day and the two of you stayed there most of the day.”

Francine thought quickly. “I needed to wait for you to leave so I could go get the surveillance equipment. I told Billy I needed the overtime so he didn’t send anyone else and I told Beaman Housekeeping hadn’t been there yet so I was just going to wait.”

“Didn’t he wonder why the equipment was all still off?” asked Amanda slowly.

“It wasn’t.” She saw them both flinch and went on “I stuck a camera outside your door and monitored that until I saw you go and told him I was watching the comings and goings that way. And after that, he didn’t stay. I sent him away,” she said, sipping her wine.

“But he’s recorded as being there in the notes.”

“I faked the notes.”

“Even the ones in his handwriting?”

 _Oh Shit._  Amanda had led her so gently into the trap she wasn’t sure she could get out of it.

“We faked them up together later.”

“And why did he agree to that?” Lee was seeing where Amanda was going with it now and joined the questioning.

“Why wouldn’t he? He got a day off from work and all he had to do was say he was with me. I don’t know – maybe he wanted to kill someone and needed the alibi. I don’t give Beaman’s thought processes much thought.”

“I think Beaman’s thought processes are pretty simple and I don’t think he’d be persuaded not to spend a day in a hotel room with you that easily.” It was Lee who said it but Amanda was nodding in agreement. “So I think he was there and I want to know why you’re lying about it.”

“Because she’s your friend,” said a voice from the door.

They all swiveled to stare at Ephraim who was leaning on the frame of the apartment door.

“I told you not to come here!” snarled Francine. “And how did you get in?”

Ephraim shrugged and stepped into the apartment, closing the door behind him. “Door wasn’t shut properly – I just walked in.”

“Well, you can’t just walk in whenever you feel like it!”

“No?” He hadn’t come any closer, he had simply leaned back against the apartment door, arms crossed.

“No!”

“What did you mean about her being our friend?” Trust Amanda to ignore the interruption and get back to the point.

“She’s lying about me being there because it was part of our deal.”

Francine looked confused. What the hell was he talking about?

“I agreed to fake the notes if she agreed to partner with me for a month.”

“You’re blackmailing her? Using us? And you’re letting him?” Lee’s anger levels were obviously on the rise again but were now redirected away from Francine to a new target.

“Yes” said Beaman.

“No!” shouted Francine.

“Well which is it?” asked Lee angrily.

“She asked me not to tell anyone. I agreed – with conditions.” Ephraim stared at Francine, daring her to contradict him again. “You’re an idiot if you think she was doing anything but trying to protect you.”

“You’re letting him force you to work with him to protect us?” Lee said slowly.

There was a silent standoff between Francine and Ephraim before she finally said “Fine. Yes.”

“You son of a bitch!” Lee started to charge across the room toward Beaman who straightened up and braced himself before Lee was stopped dead by Amanda’s voice.

“Lee, stop it!”

Lee had stopped just short of Beaman, still looking murderous. “Why should I?”

“Because they’re lying.” Amanda turned to look at Francine. “Don’t do this. Don’t lie – not to us. Not if we’re really your friends.”

“We’re not lying.”

Amanda smiled sadly. “Yeah, you are. He’s not making you do anything. He wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Wouldn’t I? My feelings for Francine isn’t exactly a secret, Mrs. King.” Beaman had slipped into classroom mode, trying to overawe her. “I might very well be desperate enough to spend time with her however I can get it.”

“No, your feelings aren’t a secret,” agreed Amanda “but that she feels the same way is.” Lee’s head whipped around so fast, it almost came off.

Francine felt herself go cold. How could she have guessed that? “I do not!” She didn’t dare look at Ephraim.

“Liar.” Amanda met Francine’s glare with a wider smile. “He never left that hotel room that night.”

“Of course he did.”

“No he didn’t.” Amanda’s eyes were sparkling with some hidden amusement. She looked at Lee. “Did he?”

Lee stared at her for a moment, wondering why she was so certain. Suddenly the memory returned - _‘Someone’s having fun’_ – and he choked with laughter. Amanda smiled at him, then looked back toward Francine.

“Francine, it’s sweet that he thinks he’s protecting you, but we all know you wouldn’t let yourself be put in that position.”

“You two didn’t leave me any choice.”

Amanda blinked. “You would actually have gone that far to cover for us?”

“She did go that far!”  Beaman snapped from across the room.

Amanda’s gaze turned to him and studied him for a moment before saying “No she didn’t - because she didn’t have to. You wouldn’t be here telling us that if it were true – you’d be hiding under a rock hoping Lee doesn’t kill you. You two really didn’t think this through did you? In what possible way is it better that we think we’re the cause of you two being partners because she’s being forced into it? Do you think we’d let that happen if it were true?”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to find out!”

Amanda shook her head. “Oh my gosh, you’re like a bad version of that Christmas story. Francine lied and tried to convince us you weren’t there to keep you out of this to keep you safe and now you’re trying to keep her safe from goodness knows what by pretending there’s nothing between you.”

Lee’s head was swinging back and forth between the women and Beaman like a tennis match. All the tension that had been in Beaman as he’d charged across the room was suddenly entirely diverted from him and directed across the room where Francine was puffing up like an angry cat.

“We are not...” she began only to stop when Amanda held up a hand.

“Don’t. Please don’t” There was an almost odd begging quality to Amanda’s tone of voice. “Don’t lie about it. It will make you crazy in the end – just admit it, even if it’s just to us. ”

It was such a big ask – Francine had never really let herself be exposed in front of anyone in her life, not her friends, not her lovers, not even Jonathan –until Ephraim has blindsided her, cracking her wide-open. She was breathing heavily, almost as if she’d run a race, such was the panic she felt at having to admit it even to herself. The silence went on so long that Amanda gave up.

“Okay, so don’t,” she sighed. “I get it.” She stood up and gestured to Lee that they should leave.

He was still standing in the centre of the room, watching the play of emotions on Francine’s face. He turned to glance at Beaman, standing stock still by the door, eyes fixed on her, expression unreadable. He had a sudden flash to that morning and suddenly understood the murderous look on Beaman’s face during their argument.

“We got married six months ago,” he found himself saying.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, the end of this may be delayed a tiny bit as month end approaches and my worklife goes crazy. I hope to be done by the weekend!


	5. Exposition and Activation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One exposed secret leads to another, leads to another, leads to...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in finishing this but Hurricane Hermine had other plans for me this past little while like power outages and relocating and a bunch of other stuff that you probs don't care about. On the upside, it gave me time to think up the overly long epilogue-type chapter

“Lee!” He heard Amanda’s faint shriek but never took his eyes off Francine.

“What?” Her eyes were like saucers and her jaw had dropped open. She glanced at Beaman whose expression probably mirrored her own, then at Amanda who appeared to be half-shocked, half-laughing at Lee’s announcement, then back at Lee. “You are not! You’re making this up in some kind of weird petty revenge plan!”

“No I’m not and we haven’t just been screwing around all this time – we got married last February,” he repeated, desperately.

Francine’s head swung back and forth between the couple standing in front of her, Amanda nodding in affirmation, Lee staring at her intently as if he’d just explained something important.

“Married?” she repeated as Lee nodded. “You bastard! You got married and you didn’t tell me? You’ve been letting me make a fool of myself LOOKING OUT FOR YOU and you’ve been married for SIX MONTHS?” She had never been so furiously angry with Lee ever - not even when they'd been breaking up. “I went through all of this to keep people from finding out you’re having an affair with YOUR OWN WIFE?”

"All this?" she heard Ephraim mutter,"Awesome" - but she was too angry to deal with that now.

“We’ve been in hiding to try and keep our family safe but we’ve been in hiding for way too long. We couldn’t tell anyone, not our families, not you - we couldn’t share it with anyone, we can only be married when we’re alone together… It’s making us both crazy. That’s why I was so angry when I thought you’d been spying on us. So when Amanda tells you the lying will make you crazy, trust me, we’re speaking from experience.” He ran his hand along the back of his neck and looked over at Amanda who looked like she was just barely stifling her laughter. “I could use some help here, Amanda!”

Amanda wiped away the tears of laughter streaming from her eyes. “I think what he’s trying to say is, if there’s even an iota of a chance I’m right and you two have something, just... oh I don’t know. Just enjoy it, ok? We’re happy for you and if you need anything, we’ll be there. And if you want to yell at us some more, that’s fine too, but maybe not tonight because I think there’s another conversation you should be having.”

She stepped around the kitchen counter and hugged a still-stunned Francine. “Thank you for looking out for us. It means a lot. I’m sorry my husband was a jerk today.” She stepped back and grinned at the frozen blond. “”And I doubt it matters to you what we think, but I think it’s great and apparently Lee approves enough to air all the family laundry in front of him.”

“There is nothing -- ”

Francine stopped talking as she looked up in time to see Ephraim straighten and open the apartment door to walk back out. In one sickening heartbeat she knew she was about to make a horrible mistake if she let him leave. “Beaman!”

He stopped dead, but unlike that morning in the hotel room, this time he turned around to look at her as she walked toward him. She stopped a foot away, hands clenched at her sides. He eyed her up and down for a moment, watching as she visibly fought with the self-protective habits of a lifetime, and finally allowed himself that long slow smile. “Yes, Desmond?” he said finally.

“I’m not good at this. You know I'm not good at this.”

“Oh I know, believe me I know.” He was laughing at her now and as usual she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Until he took pity on her and said “But you just need to trust me, love.”

“Amanda’s right – we don’t have to lie to them. I’m not ashamed of this, I just... just… Ephraim, don’t leave me.”

Amanda met Lee’s look, both of them wide-eyed now.

“Francine,” he sighed. “I wasn’t leaving – I was just opening the door to let Scarecrow and his wife get out of here, preferably as quickly as possible.”

Amanda gave a very unladylike snort of laughter and walked over to grab Lee’s arm and drag him toward the door.

“Now wait a minute,” he protested. “I spilled my guts and now I want to know how this happened! I want to know how the two of you finally got together.”

“You really don’t,” said Beaman, never taking his eyes off Francine.

“You really, really don’t,” agreed Francine, finally starting to crack a smile. She lifted a hand and wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. “But I’ll give you the abridged version of it if you tell me all about how you’ve been married for the last six months.”

“Deal,” answered Lee immediately. “Spill.”

“Tomorrow,” said Francine firmly, not looking at them.

“Tomorrow,” laughed Amanda, continuing to tug at Lee, who finally gave in and let her get him moving again, still grumbling.

He did stop moving long enough to point a finger at Ephraim and say, “Beaman, not one word about this to anyone, right? From either of us?”

“Not my secret to tell, Scarecrow,” shrugged Ephraim. “To be honest, you are the person I’m the least afraid of in this room right now. Besides I like your wife’s cookies – no way I’m going to make her mad.”

Lee grinned and let Amanda drag him out the door. Just as they were almost out, Ephraim leaned in and whispered to Lee, “But if you ever leave bruises like that again, I’ll gladly try and make her a widow.”

Lee’s eyes widened as the smile on his face vanished. With a glance back at Francine, he squared his shoulders and looked back at Beaman, remorse written all over his face. “Fair enough, but that will never happen again.”

“Good.” Ephraim kicked the door closed behind them and reached out to take Francine’s hands in his. “I wouldn’t have told them if you hadn’t, you know. We could have thrown them out and never admitted to anything.”

“I don’t care if they know or not! I thought you were leaving me!” she wailed. “I thought I’d screwed this up too! I’m not good at this and everyone always leaves me but with you, I was just starting to feel--.” She stopped talking, looking for the right word.

“Safe,” he finished, sadly.

“Yes, safe.” She squeezed his hands and gulped back the sob in her voice that was just starting to subside. “Ephraim, I have learned the hard way to never feel safe, to never count on anybody but myself.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he interrupted immediately. “You and Stetson are thick as thieves – he was ready to rip my head off just now when he thought I was forcing you to work with me.”

“Yes, he was – but before that he was ready to rip my head off when he thought I’d do something to hurt Amanda. You saw him this morning - he might be my best friend, but I’m not his first loyalty. I’ve never been anybody’s first loyalty.”

“Francine, I love you but I won’t just be your safe choice.”

“I love you too but – you what?”

“You what?” he said almost simultaneously

Francine had stopped dead as she took in what he’d said just as his jaw dropped open.

“You can’t mean that,” she said uncertainly.

“Why couldn’t I mean that?” He dropped her hands to cross his arms and glare at her. “I’m the one who’s been after you for the past three years. You’re the one who’s apparently had some kind of hormonal epiphany in the last week!”

“That is not true! I’ve liked you for months!”

“Months? Oh come on – you barely talked to me before our own little Watergate!”

“Ooooh – how can you be this dense?” Her hands were on her hips now, eyes flashing. “I have always liked you! You were the only man in the office except for Lee who was never condescending or jumping at the chance to blame me when a case went wrong or trying to feel me up half the time!”

“The only one who was safe, you mean!” he spat back at her.

“Yes! Why does that word bother you so much?”

“Because I don’t want to be your safe choice! I don’t want to be the guy you settled for because you think I’m some harmless pushover who follows you around like a puppy mooning over you when you know that was an act!”

Francine opened her mouth, then closed it again, and stared at Ephraim, slowly processing what he’d said. “Ephraim,” she finally said gently. “I never said you were a safe choice, I said you were safe.”

He tilted his head and looked at her steadily, waiting for her to explain.

“I’m not good at this,” she began.

“So you keep saying,” he couldn’t help interrupting.

“Button it, Beaman!” She glared at him and took a deep breath. “The other night – that night in the bar – do you have any idea how long I’ve been driving myself home from those because there’s just been too many times of fighting off my backup at the end of the evening? Or because they left me there because they assumed I wasn’t acting and wanted to stay?  ‘Oh come on, Desmond, nobody can be acting like that and not want it bad’. And then you come along, and you don’t see that at all – you see me and how much I hate it, and you were just there, holding me and telling me I’m not that person and making me feel… safe.”

“But you weren’t safe - I did exactly what they all tried to do,” Beaman said stiffly. “I was nicer about it but I still took advantage of you.”

Francine put out a hand and rested it on his crossed arms, shaking her head. “That’s not true and you know it. You would have left if I’d asked you to in the car, or in the apartment. Or the shower, or the bed,” she added with a tentative smile, relieved to see his expression get lighter. “But you understood I needed you even when I didn’t. Most people would have turned tail and run when I started yelling at them but you stayed and talked me off the ledge. You took care of me and gave me comfort and then you laughed at me but in a good way – how could I not love someone like that?”

“Francine, I blackmailed you into sleeping with me that night at the hotel – I’m no better than any of those other guys you just described!”

That did make her laugh outright. “Ephraim you would have backed down in a split second if I’d said no and you know it! I mean, all credit for using the available resources in the field at the time, but you are severely underestimating how badly I’d wanted you to do something like that for a long time. If you hadn’t let me provoke you, we’d still be stalled in that party game we’ve been playing. So you didn’t really blackmail me – it was more like a dare and I took you up on it very, very willingly. ” He still looked unconvinced so she plunged on. “If I hadn’t been there, what would you have done with the tape that night?”

“I don’t know,” he answered gruffly. “Given it to Billy probably and asked his advice. Or you probably since they’re your friends.”

“Exactly!” she pounced. “You wouldn’t have said anything whether I was there or not and I knew that when I agreed to your… conditions.” She began twisting a finger in his shirt. He raised an eyebrow and she went on, “I mean, it was pretty hot to pretend that you were forcing me to do something I wanted to do so badly, but part of the rush that made it so fucking hot was letting my guard down, feeling like I could trust you completely to play the game and not worry you’d make me regret it later. That was a big leap for me, to trust that you wouldn’t be boasting about getting to fuck the ice queen during a stakeout.”

She slid her arms around his waist and looked up at him.

He draped his arms around her and sighed. “Desmond, all that was a complete and utter bullshit, you know that, right?”

“Excuse me?” She grew stiff in his arms, getting ready to battle him.

“Well, it’s been a few years since my high school debate team skills were put to the test but let me see if I have this straight – do you realise you just spent five minutes explaining that I couldn’t possibly love you and I must be lying and then you followed it up with trying to convince me that what you love about me is that I am completely and absolutely trustworthy?”

Francine gazed at him, completely speechless. The shit-eating grin was back as if he knew he had her pinned again.

“I’ll just let you give that some thought while I do this,” he went on, lowering his head to start kissing her temple, working his way along the shell of her ear and then down to her neck – all while she continued to stand motionless, trying to figure out the logic of what he’d said.

“You’re right,” she said finally.

He paused and lifted his lips off the shoulder he was currently nuzzling, having pushed the neck of her blouse aside. “Can I have that in writing?” he asked.

“No, of course not,” she answered immediately. “A good agent doesn’t leave a paper trail. Besides you’re only right for as long as you’re doing whatever it is you’re doing with your hands right now and I can get my head straight to come up with a counter argument.”

“You are the only woman I know who wants to argue over why someone would love her,” he murmured, rolling his eyes.

“You’ve had this argument with someone else?” she pounced.

“Excellent point. Advantage Ms. Desmond. No, I have never had this argument with anyone else,” he answered, picking her up and carrying her to the sofa where he sat down, with her draped across his lap.

Immediately she wriggled free to straddle his legs and point a finger at him. “You’d better be telling the fucking truth, Beaman, or I will beat the shit out of you – and you know I can.”

“I know you’re swearing a lot right now,” he said, capturing her waving finger and bringing it to his mouth to suck gently.

“I am, aren’t I?” she agreed happily. She lifted his free hand and began to mimic him, rolling her tongue suggestively along the tips of his fingers. “And you know what that means.”

“Anal?” he asked hopefully, grinning as she threw her head back and began to laugh.

“Don’t be ridiculous! I never do that until at least the fourth date – and we haven’t even had our first yet.”

“Don’t blame me – I’ve been asking for long enough.”

She was still giggling when she brought her head back so she could begin kissing him, her hands already starting to work on the buttons on his shirt. He was already returning the favor, pulling the tight V-neck t-shirt over her head, and pushing the cups of her bra aside to nip lightly at the pebbled rosy tips while she gasped approval.

She began to squirm when his hand slipped down the back of her slacks and a finger began to gently run up and down the crease between her ass cheeks. “Oh God!” she moaned. “I should never have told you how fucking crazy that makes me.”

“I need some kind of leverage,” he answered with a hoarse laugh. “You have all the other advantages – how you look, how you feel, how you taste…”

“No,” she disagreed. “Because you have all those too. I can barely get through a day at work without wanting to drag you somewhere private to do this.” As she finished her sentence, she managed to finish undoing his fly and pulled his cock out of his underwear, sliding down onto her knees to take him in her mouth.

His head fell back on the back of the sofa as he groaned at the feel of her warm tongue running firmly along the underside of his member then rolling across the tip, flicking the slit and humming, sending shocks of arousal straight down his length and tightening his balls. When she began to caress those with one hand while continuing to suck and lick him, he could barely breathe.

As much as he was enjoying her efforts, he lifted her off and pulled her up his body again to kiss her firmly. She kissed him back, but with a grumbling sound at having been interrupted.

“Bed,” he grunted, standing up with her in his arms.

“That Agency gym thing is really working out for you isn’t it?” she laughed as he carried her toward the bedroom.

“I'm pretty sure it’s these workouts with you, love, because I haven’t been in the gym in days, thanks to you.”

He gently placed her on the bed, then not so gently tugged her slacks off until she was lying across the bed, dressed only in a turquoise bra and panties, holding her arms out to him. He ignored that invitation, choosing instead to reach forward and undo the clasp of her bra, pausing to suckle each breast firmly before moving down her body to slowly remove her panties. As he pulled them over her outstretched foot and discarded them, he crouched at her feet and begin to slowly lick and kiss his way up her legs. She twitched appreciatively with every touch, hands reaching out to try and touch him as he edged ever closer up her body. When he settled between her legs to eat her out, she gave a gasp of relief and arched back into the bed pillows as he started to tongue her mercilessly. When he added fingers, stroking her pussy walls and reaching her g-spot with unerring accuracy, it seemed like both forever and immediately before she felt the numbing shivers that told her the climax was imminent.

He recognized the growling pants she was giving off, hearing it even over the pounding rush of blood in his ears, determined not to come himself until he was embedded in her body. He grasped her thigh, continuing to stimulate her with rapid flickers of his tongue until he could taste how close she was, before finally taking her clit firmly between his lips and sucking, sending her tumbling off the cliff’s edge, sobbing his name.

She held out her arms, welcoming him as he slid up to lie on top of her, bucking her hips up to grind against him, frustrated when he didn’t penetrate her immediately, stopping instead to hover over her on raised arms, kissing her face, her neck, her breasts.

“Ephraim! Please just fuck me – I need you!”

“Not until you agree to go out with me,” he laughed against her neck.

“Beaman! For fuck’s sake!” She was frustrated but laughing at the same time. “If this is because I said no to anal, I take it all back!”

Immediately, he slid a hand down her back, and under her ass, lightly pressing a finger against the puckered flesh hidden there. “Really?”

The squeal as he tickled her there was his answer – that and the way she moaned out “I just need you inside me now, and I’m past caring how or where. Just… now please.”

He couldn’t resist a plea like that, impaling her in one quick motion, almost coming simply at the noise of pleasure she made when he did so. But then she was moving under him, head thrown back on the pillow, body arching up under him as her warm tunnel clamped around him, squeezing him until he was almost blacking out with pleasure. Soon they were both slick with sweat, arms wrapped around each other, legs tangled, breath gasping out against each other’s neck and then he felt her stiffen as her climax approached. He realised she was saying something under her breath and gathered her closer in his arms to try and make it out. It didn’t seem like she was even aware she was speaking and then just as her orgasm hit and she went boneless in his arms, he heard it clearly, “I’m falling, love, catch me.”

And he did, even as he fell with her.


	6. Solutions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distraction is an effective defense technique

Ephraim was walking down the hallway to the bullpen when the elevator doors opened and Amanda stepped into his path.

“Good morning, Mrs. King,” he greeted her in the colorless tone he always used at the office.

“Good morning, Mr. Beaman. There are some of those cookies you like up in the Q Bureau if you want to drop by later.” She leaned in and added confidentially, “I put a plate of decoys at the coffee station, but don’t be fooled – there’s more than that.”

He couldn’t help returning her warm smile. “I’ll look forward to that, thank you. I hope you didn’t feel like you had to make them.”

“Oh no, there’s usually something going at my house because of the boys, and once you start, it’s easy enough to just double the batch.” She continued to stand there for a moment, eyes cast down and hands clasped together.

“Was there something else, Mrs. King?” he asked, lips twitching when her eyes flew up to meet his with a twinkle at the way he emphasized her name before she suddenly blushed and looked down again.

“It’s just that, well, we were so concerned yesterday about finding out why Francine hadn’t said anything…”

“Because it didn’t ever occur to you she was protecting you?” he couldn’t help the reprimanding tone.

“Well, there’s history and neither of us were thinking that clearly in scramble mode. But you’re right – it was unfair of us to leap to the worst possible conclusion.”

She waited for his grunt of agreement before going on. “Anyway, it didn’t occur to me until after we left, you know, because we were so busy talking about the two of you, well it didn’t occur to me until later that you must have… that you also… that you were there. At the Watergate.” She lifted her eyes to look at him, scarlet-faced.

It took him a beat to understand what she meant and why she was so embarrassed. It took him a much shorter beat to let the lie trip off his tongue. “Well I was there but I didn’t see anything, if that’s what’s worrying you.”

“You didn’t?” She sounded hopeful and disbelieving at the same time.

He tamped down the mental image of the woman opposite him in the throes of passion and continued to lie. “Oh no. I was in the bathroom when you two arrived and by the time I came out, Francine had already turned everything off.” He made a mental note to fill Francine in on this new version of events.

“Oh”. She looked like the weight of the world had just lifted off her. He decided a rapid change in topic was required.

“How did you know?” he asked curiously. “That Francine and I were involved, I mean? Most people here assume she’s tolerating me and nothing more.”

“Well, most people haven’t spent as much time with her as we have in the past few years – she’s very good at hiding behind that persona but I’ve seen it crack before so it gave me an advantage. And besides, once I realised you didn’t leave the hotel…” She shrugged. “Then it all just fell into place.”

“But how did you know I hadn’t left? All the evidence said otherwise.”

Amanda couldn’t help the gurgle of laughter from bubbling up. “Thin walls.”

“Oh. OH! I should have remembered that,” he added without thinking and watched her eyes go wide. “I, um, I said I didn’t see anything, I didn’t say anything about not hearing anything.”

“Huh. So I guess we’re kind of even,” she laughed softly, still embarrassed.

“I would say so.” He stifled the smile as he flashed back to the memory of the brunette opposite him splayed out against the hotel room wall, head thrown back in passion.

They both jumped a little bit at the sudden voice beside them.

“Moving on with more of Scarecrow’s sloppy seconds?”

Ephraim and Amanda both turned to stare at Roxanne who was standing beside them, arms crossed, triumphant expression on her face.

“Excuse me?” It was Ephraim who finally answered.

“I assume you’re trying your luck with the next one of Lee Stetson’s castoffs since he’s obviously reverted to type.”

“Type?”

“Blond, blue eyes, big tits. You know – type.” Roxanne was spitting the words out with malicious glee.

Ephraim turned to look at Amanda who was looking remarkably calm all things considered and even a bit... pleased?

“Mrs. King and I were just discussing her successful completion of her training classes actually, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Well if your ‘partner’ is your business, you should check out the action in the bullpen. Our favorite wolf is on the prowl again.” Roxanne looked from one to the other, obviously annoyed that she wasn't getting a rise out of either of them.

“Shall we go and see what’s so desperately interesting?” asked Amanda, laying a hand on his arm and giving it a very light squeeze.

He let her turn him down the hall without a backward glance at the brassy blond tapping her foot behind them. He resisted asking her what was going on, until they walked past the guards and through the glass doors to the sight of Lee perched on the edge of Francine’s desk beside a bouquet of flowers, and Francine looking up at him, laughing brightly at whatever he’d just said.

He would have been lying if he’d said his heart hadn’t seized up briefly at the sight of the two old friends but then he heard Amanda murmur cheerfully, “Oh, that’s perfect” under her breath and move forward to join them. He followed in her wake, still not completely clear what was happening, until he arrived at the desk and Francine looked up and gave him a quick wink.

“Hey Beaman, look at what Lee brought me. Aren’t they beautiful?”

She turned the bouquet so that he could read the card, carefully printed in block letters. “Thanks for a memorable night. Sorry about the bruises.” He raised his eyes to find the other three observing him. Beyond them he realised the entire bullpen was watching the four of them and all in a rush he saw what was going on.

“They’re lovely,” he said finally and heard all three of them exhale quietly with relief. “You certainly know how to charm the ladies, Scarecrow.”

“So we’re on for dinner? My place? Around 7?” Lee was saying to Francine now in a voice that seemed quiet but was pitched exactly to be overheard by eager ears at nearby desks.

“You bet! See you then!”

“Lee, we need to get back to that file Billy assigned us if you’re quite finished with your social calendar.” Amanda’s quiet voice was laced with humor if you knew what to listen for.

“You bet! Let’s go. See ya later, toots. Have fun babysitting Beaman today!” Lee jumped up from the edge of the desk and headed across the bullpen, hand in its usual place in the small of Amanda’s back.

Ephraim had just turned back to look at Francine when Billy appeared beside them, looking confused.

“I know I told you to make up with Scarecrow and improve the mood in the bullpen, but I’m not sure I approve of your methods,” he scolded Francine gently.

“Geez Billy, can’t you just be happy that we’re getting along?” Francine managed to sound genuinely annoyed.

“Just don’t get along too well,” Billy warned. “I remember what it was like last time you two broke up.” He stared after the departing couple then back at Francine, before shaking his head, obviously still confused.

“Don’t worry,” said Francine. “Lee won’t be breaking up with me again anytime soon.”

Billy looked at her, surprised by the certainty in her voice then up at Beaman. “You’re okay with this? This isn’t going to affect your working relationship is it?”

“Oh no, sir I know exactly where I stand with Ms. Desmond. She’s made it crystal clear on any number of occasions.”

“She has? Politely, I trust?” Billy bent a meaningful gaze on Francine who was looking overly innocent.

“Oh yes, sir, she’s just keeping me around for safety.” Billy looked disconcerted at that answer but both agents stared back at him with serene expressions and he finally walked away, shaking his head.

“So do I have a dinner date as well?” Ephraim finally asked softly when he was out of earshot. “Or are all the most beautiful women in the Agency now dating Stetson?”

“Why yes, you do, Lee’s apartment at 7,” she grinned up at him. “We’re getting the whole marriage story.”

“Doesn’t that mean they get the whole how-we-got-together story?” he asked, brows raised, stifling the grin as she processed that thought.

“Oh God,” she muttered.

"Want to go grab some lunch and figure out what version we're giving them?"

She stood up immediately and grabbed her pocketbook from her desk drawer. "Lead the way, partner."

He waited until the elevator had closed and was moving up to the lobby to pump his fist and say, "Two dates in one day - yes! Halfway to anal!"

Only Mrs. Marsten heard the shrieks coming from the elevator and watched in amazement as the normally serene Francine Desmond fell out of the secret entrance, still laughing helplessly, followed by the even more unusual sight of a grinning Agent Beaman, hand on her elbow, leading her out into the sunshine.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story really went a different direction than I started - if anyone is interested in seeing the polyamorous way this was going to go for this foursome, let me know - LOL.


End file.
